Against All Odds: Life is Like a Puzzle. You Put the Pieces Together to get the Whole Picture.

by Sheila Hodges

Against All Odds is about Wanda's struggles to break the abuse and poverty cycle in her life. Also, how she dealt with each issue and how she learned to depend on God early in life for hope, comfort, and results. First, Wanda's mother was physically abused by her father. Second, Wanda was abused by her older siblings and her parents until she was 13 years old. Third, she was 16 ½ years old and a junior in high school when she became pregnant and married to an abusive spouse. Later, she divorced him after six years of abuse. Finally, she remarried and have been married for 36 years. Next, Wanda grew up in a very poor environment and she continued to be poor as an adult. Even though she was a young parent and married in teen she decided to return to school to complete her education. After a long struggle, she overcame poverty through her faith in God, by completing her education and later pursuing a career, finally she was successful. Wanda persevered and was determined to complete the task.

68 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2014

Reviews

[Kingdom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Against All Odds by Sheila Hodges inspires others to overcome through an encouraging story of Wanda, a young girl brought up in poverty and abuse. With the use of much Scripture, this novel is all about giving hope to others and teaching them the way of the Lord.

Presenting a young girl, Wanda, being born in a single parent home in 1951, Wanda was raised by her single mother, which meant many things. First, Wanda was home alone a lot; her family also endured much poverty and moved many times. Wanda has three older brothers in the book that weren’t very nice to her and eventually multi-faceted forms of abuse arise from the boys, stemming from the parents, trickling down to the children. Wanda, having no real sense of family, ended up pregnant as a teenager and also married an abusive spouse, therefore repeating the cycle. Learning to overcome the many pitfalls of poverty through education, Wanda perseveres and relies on her faith in God from a young age to see her through the storms of her life.

This story depicts the often plight of children (especially young girls) raised in poor environments with a lack of family structure. Endearing, this novel displays how God can help turn one life’s around, and points others in the direction of seeking God’s Kingdom first in their lives. The book begins with a poignant scripture, Matthew 25:31-40 where Jesus separates the sheeps from the goats at the end of the age, speaking of those that fed the hungry, clothed the naked and visited those who were sick and in prison.

Wanda’s life gives understanding to these verses and gives encouragement that through education, hard work and faith in God, one’s life can be turned around to give glory to God. This is a highly encouraging and educational read, giving others faith in Jesus Christ and His Word for life’s journeys.